Nov

20

Two posts in two days! What! Bee tee dubs: if you would like to discontinue email notifications, you can easily do so at the bottom of this page, exactly like how you signed up. No muss, no fuss, no need to send me a terse one-word email to UNSUBSCRIBE. I am not spamming you, I promise! I don’t even send those emails! It’s a plugin thingie which means as far as I’m concerned it works via tiny elves that live inside my WordPress installation.

Today I am feeling sorry for a football guy. Specifically, the football guy who came out during the few remaining seconds of the Ducks game last night and tried to kick a … what, a field goal? I’m not really sure how football works, either. (Elves?) Anyway, the score was like 35-38 and he had to try and kick that ball what look like about twenty million miles, and he missed, and the Ducks lost. And today the paper had this enormous blaring headline, MISSED KICK COST OREGON, something like that, and I kept thinking how shitty that is for that guy since it’s not like he lost the game all by himself, and can you even imagine the insane pressure he was under as he was out on the field staring down that ball? And how terrible he probably felt afterwards? GAH. This is why I can’t watch sports. Also on account of most of the games being brain-meltingly boring and taking at least five hours too long.

The other thing happening today is that I am wearing the world’s most comfortable pair of boots. I escaped the house for a while this morning and found myself in a DSW—that’s Discount Shoe Warehouse, don’t you know—and I came across a pair of Børns (Martinas, I think they’re called?) that I’ve been eyeballing for months:

Cute, and better yet, they feel amazing. Best of all: they were marked down about 40%, so now they are mine. Retail therapy, for the win!

Also immensely cheering: it has been freezing here in Seattle lately, but today was crisp and clear and cold rather than wet and depressing and cold. A glorious day for soaking up city views:

Now I have a question for you. My assignment for Thanksgiving next week is to bring cranberry sauce and rolls to JB’s brother’s wife’s parents’ house, where we’re having dinner on Thursday. (Wow, that was ridiculously complicated. My sister-in-law’s parents’ house, how about that.) Can you recommend any super-easy, super-delicious recipes for rolls? Preferably something that doesn’t require waiting around for yeast to do its mysterious thing, because I always seem to fuck that up? (“HERE ARE YOUR ROLLS I AM VERY SORRY THEY LOOK LIKE HOCKEY PUCKS.”) Or if you have a no-fail, everyone-loves-it cranberry sauce recipe, I’d love to hear that too.

For the rolls, I buy these frozen balls of dough (sold by my grocery store brand and others, they come in a big bag near the frozen garlic bread) that you just place in a pan, still frozen, about 3-5 hours ahead of time and they will thaw and rise and you pop them into the oven for 10 minutes, taste completely homemade and delicious.

Super easy recipe–only three ingredients. And it’s from Cooking Light so it’s “healthy”:

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup apple cider
1 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally.

You can serve warm or chilled (if you’re transporting). You can also add brandy or whatever you want to fancy it up, but I usually just do this and it’s SO easy.

Amelia on
November 21st, 2011 11:09 am

I grew up in Ilwaco, WA (want a great weekend getaway? Go to Long Beach/Ilwaco area for playing on a gorgeous WA beach, hiking around TWO lighthouses, and biking a miles-long paved beach trail… so great!) where they grow cranberries, and this is what we do: Put cranberries in saucepan. Add some sugar. Then add some more. Add some water. Turn on the heat low/medium, stir it up, use a potato masher to pop the cranberries when they get good and hot. Add more sugar to taste. If you cook them for a good long time, it will all start to congeal.
I can’t help with the rolls, my bread turns out like rocks.

My son finally got to the stage in soccer where they have a designated goalie. He really wanted to play that position so he does. Before he started though, I made sure to tell him to remember that sometimes it could come down to one goal a penalty shot or similar and if it went in he might feel as though he lost the game, but to remember that before it ever got to that point the ball had to get through 7 other players first. It’s still hard to watch him play sometimes so I have to remind myself of the same thing. The goalie (or kicker) doesn’t get to that place all by himself.

ANYWAY, I have no roll recommendations because I can’t bake anything with yeast without fucking it up completely. My husband handles bread/rolls/etc. So this comment was unhelpful and all about me – sorry!

Though I know you do not drink, so I don’t know if it’s ok for you to have the bourbon around?

Also, I own those boots and they are FABULOUS.

Mairi on
November 21st, 2011 5:55 pm

This Cranberry Relish is amazing–I’ve been making it for years, and even die-hard haters of cranberries seem to love it. Plus, my mother-in-law actually requests extra made so that she can freeze it. Score.

Best made a day or two ahead. Oh, and your whole house will smell delish while it’s cooking.

And I used to always rave over my MIL’s rolls and years later I discovered she always uses the Rhodes frozen dough and shapes it herself into lovely little shapes. I always thought they were homemade. It’s become my little secret now!

Jenn on
November 21st, 2011 9:42 pm

Scoop and Bake dinner rolls from Cook’s Country/Cook’s lllustrated /America’s Test Kitchen. I make these every week for sandwiches and they are awesome. From start to finish it is less than an hour. Mix ingredients, let rise, scoop into a muffin tin, bake, devour. No muss, no fuss.

I generally bring baking soda biscuits when rolls are called for. Nobody minds, especially if you bring them warm! This is the recipe I use, http://chefmichaelsmith.com/Recipe/frozen-butter-biscuits/, which uses grated frozen butter. It’s a bit of work (not much, really), & eliminates the two knives/pastry cutter bit, which I’m not a fan of. And also, no yeast.

Speaking of recipes, I made chocolate chip cookies from a recipe you shared here, a while ago (a few months? a year? I plead mommy brain), and they are truly fabulous. Thanks for the share.

I cannot help because I actually prefer the jellied cranberry sauce. I know. My 16 year old son thinks it gross too but I’ve tried others and the texture is too weird. I say get some Sister Schubert’s rolls and call it a day. They are great!

That’s exactly why I can’t watch sports. Somebody is always cracking under the immense pressure of a career defining moment. It makes me want to wash a Xanax down with a bottle of wine in a gesture of empathy. Oh and I love the canned, jellied sauce. Most things are better, fresh and homemade but cranberry sauce isn’t one of them.

L.E. on
November 24th, 2011 7:26 am

Two words–Trader Joe’s. Best fresh cranberry sauce ever.

Shelley on
November 24th, 2011 10:41 am

I have those boots too. So cute and comfy.

Lisa M. on
November 24th, 2011 5:05 pm

Ok, I made the Mrs. Hayley’s rolls, and they were *the awesome*! So easy, no kneading, yeasty goodness!! Thanks for sharing that!